A total of 8.7 billion Sm³ oil equivalents (o.e.) have been sold from the Norwegian continental shelf. Over the last ten years, more gas than oil has been sold measured in o.e. In the period 1985-2005, oil production was significantly higher than gas production. The proven resources have increased by 16 million Sm³ of o.e. compared with 2023.
The Norwegian Offshore Directorate's resource accounts as per 31 Dec. 2024 show that the overall resource volume (including what has been sold and delivered) on the Norwegian shelf is about 15.6 Sm³ billion (GSm³) of oil equivalents (o.e.). This is an increase of 36 million Sm³ (MSm³) of o.e. in 2024 compared with the previous year. The proven resources have increased by 16 MSm³ of o.e. compared with 2023.
Total recoverable petroleum resources on the Norwegian continental shelf as of December 31, 2024.
Oil and condensate are listed in million standard cubic metres (Sm³). Natural Gas Liquid (NGL) is listed in million tonnes, and gas is listed in billion standard cubic metres. The conversion factor for NGL in tonnes to Sm³ is 1.9. Total oil equivalents are listed in million Sm³ o.e., 1000 Sm³ gas = 1 Sm³ o.e.
56 per cent of the expected recoverable resources on the shelf have been produced, and 22 per cent of the overall resources have yet to be proven.
Petroleum resources and uncertainty in the estimates as per December 31, 2024.
The figure in each column shows the expected recoverable petroleum, while the slanted line shows the uncertainty in the estimates; low estimate on the left and high estimate on the right.
In the Norwegian Offshore Directorate’s resource classification system, oil and gas resources transition into reserves once the operator has submitted a plan for development and operation (PDO) or decided to implement a measure optimising recovery that does not require a PDO. Discoveries are classified as fields once an approved plan for development is available. There are currently more than 100 fields in production, under development, or with plans for redevelopment
The Troll and Johan Sverdrup fields have the largest remaining reserves on the Norwegian shelf, with 564 billion Sm3 of gas and 223 million Sm3 of oil, respectively.
The overall remaining reserves amount to 858 MSm³ of oil and 1260 GSm³ of gas. This year's resource accounts show a slight growth in gross reserves, that means reserves before the total production is subtracted. The growth in gross oil reserves is 16 MSm3 and in gross gas reserves 10 GSm3.
Sixteen new discoveries were made in 2024. Eleven of the discoveries were made in the North Sea, two in the Norwegian Sea and three in the Barents Sea. At the end of 2024, the discovery portfolio consisted of 78 discoveries.
Of these discoveries, the largest are 7324/8-1 Wisting in the Barents Sea, 6406/9-1 Linnormin the Norwegian Sea and 35/2-1 (Peon) in the North Sea.
A low number of PDOs and PDO exemption applications were submitted in 2024. This also explains the modest increase in reserves compared with the previous Resource Accounts.
Contingent resources
Contingent resources are proven oil and gas for which a production decision has not yet been made. Petroleum volumes in potential improved recovery projects are included in this category. The growth in the contingent resources category comes from both new discoveries and from changed resource estimates and new opportunities in fields and discoveries. Decisions are made every year to develop some of the contingent resources. They are then transitioned over to the reserves category.
At year-end, the contingent oil resources in fields were 325 MSm³, which is an increase of 4 MSm³ from the previous year. Contingent gas resources amounted to 294 GSm³, and this is an increase of 3 GSm³ compared with the previous year. The increase is related to several future projects under consideration by the licensees.
Contingent resources in discoveries amount to 221 MSm³ of oil and 230 GSm³ of gas. The total volume for undeveloped discoveries has been reduced by 22 MSm3 of o.e. compared with last year's accounts.
More than 60 per cent of all undiscovered resources are located in the Barents Sea.
Undiscovered resources are volumes of petroleum that we assume could be recovered from deposits not yet proven through drilling. The estimates for undiscovered resources in areas opened for petroleum activities are updated on an annual basis. The update is based on assessments taking into consideration the previous year's exploration results, new studies, as well as relevant information from the companies.
Undiscovered resources are estimated at 3.5 billion Sm3 of o.e., which is an increase of 20 MSm3 of o.e. compared with the previous year. Unproven resources make up about 22 per cent of the overall remaining resources on the Norwegian continental shelf.
The three areas North Sea, Norwegian Sea and Barents Sea are different with regard to geology, resource base, maturity and scope of infrastructure, distance and knowledge. Large parts of the expected remaining resources in the Barents Sea have yet to be proven.
There has been petroleum activity in the North Sea since 1965. The Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea (areas north of the 62nd parallel) were opened for petroleum activities in 1980. The remaining resources and distribution between discovered and undiscovered resources in opened and unopened areas, respectively, therefore differ between the three ocean areas.
Remaining petroleum resources by sea area as per December 31, 2024.
In the North Sea, most of the oil and gas is classified as reserves, which means that they have approved plans for production. In the Barents Sea, most of the oil and gas resources have the status of undiscovered resources. Vast areas in the Barents Sea have not been opened for petroleum activity as yet, and this is where we find the greatest expected value for undiscovered resources.
Undiscovered resources are volumes of petroleum that we assume could be recovered from deposits that have yet to be proven through drilling. The estimates for undiscovered resources in areas opened for petroleum activities are updated on an annual basis. The update is based on assessments taking into consideration the previous year's exploration results, new studies, as well as relevant information from the companies.
In areas that have not been opened for petroleum activities, the estimates are only updated if new data has been acquired in the area, providing significant new information.
The North Sea is the powerhouse of the Norwegian petroleum activities, with 69 producing fields at year-end. In 2024, two new fields came on stream: Tyrving and Hanz, and eleven new discoveries were made in the North Sea.
The resource accounts for the North Sea show that 181 million Sm³ (MSm³) of oil equivalents (o.e.) were sold and delivered from this part of the Norwegian continental shelf over the past year. At year-end, the reserves amounted to 1585 MSm³ of o.e. The estimate for undiscovered resources in the North Sea is 575 million Sm³ of recoverable o.e. This is distributed between 370 MSm³ of oil and 205 GSm³ of gas.
Even if one cannot rule out that larger discoveries could be made in the North Sea, we expect that the majority of discoveries will be relatively small. The average discovery size in the North Sea over the last five years is 3.5 MSm³ of recoverable o.e.
Total recoverable petroleum resources in the North Sea as of December 31, 2024.
Oil and condensate are listed in million standard cubic metres (Sm³). NGL is listed in million tonnes, and gas is listed in billion standard cubic metres. The conversion factor for NGL in tonnes to Sm³ is 1.9. Total oil equivalents are listed in million Sm³ o.e., 1000 Sm³ gas = 1 Sm³ o.e.
There are 23 producing fields in the Norwegian Sea. Two new discoveries were made in the Norwegian Sea in 2024. The largest discovery in the Norwegian Sea was proven in 2005, 6406/9-1 Linnorm.
The resource accounts for the Norwegian Sea show that 48 MSm³ of o.e. were sold and delivered from this part of the Norwegian shelf over the past year. At year-end, the reserves amounted to 423 MSm³ of o.e. The estimate for undiscovered resources in the Norwegian Sea is 760 MSm³ of recoverable o.e. This is distributed between 360 MSm³ of oil and 400 GSm³ of gas.
The average discovery size in the Norwegian Sea has increased over the past five years and is now about 4.5 MSm3 of recoverable o.e. The resource estimates for the Norwegian Sea also include the unchanged resource volumes in Lofoten-Vesterålen and in the area around Jan Mayen. These make up approximately 33 per cent of the total estimates.
Total recoverable petroleum resources in the Norwegian Sea as of December 12, 2024.
Oil and condensate are listed in million standard cubic metres (Sm³). NGL is listed in million tonnes, and gas is listed in billion standard cubic metres. The conversion factor for NGL in tonnes to Sm³ is 1.9. Total oil equivalents are listed in million Sm³ o.e., 1000 Sm³ gas = 1 Sm³ o.e.
There are two producing fields in the Barents Sea. Three new discovery was made in this sea area in 2024. The largest discovery in the Barents Sea was proven in 2013, 7324/8-1 (Wisting).
The resource accounts for the Barents Sea show that 9 MSm³ of o.e. were sold and delivered from this part of the Norwegian shelf over the past year. At year-end, the reserves amounted to 260 254 MSm³ of o.e. The estimate for undiscovered resources in the Barents Sea is 21645 MSm³ of recoverable o.e. This is distributed between 1100 1085 MSm³ of oil and 1045 1080 GSm³ of gas.
Exploration in the Barents Sea over the past five years has given mixed results. Exploration close to infrastructure has given good results, while wells in new areas were less successful. The average discovery size in this period is about 4.3 MSm³ o.e.
In the Barents Sea, 54 per cent of the resources are located in areas that have not been opened for petroleum activities, primarily in the Barents Sea North. This is the area with the greatest likelihood of making major discoveries on the Norwegian shelf. There are considerable uncertainties associated with the estimates in these areas.
Total recoverable petroleum resources in the Barents Sea as of December 31, 2024.
Oil and condensate are listed in million standard cubic metres (Sm³). NGL is listed in million tonnes, and gas is listed in billion standard cubic metres. The conversion factor for NGL in tonnes to Sm³ is 1.9. Total oil equivalents are listed in million Sm³ o.e., 1000 Sm³ gas = 1 Sm³ o.e.
The North Observer
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